Note: For some, this book may be considered a trigger. “Girl in Pieces” is a graphic description of self mutilation, loss, and pain. The narrative is told from the POV of the victim. I highly recommend this new book, but please be advised that it may not be for everyone. It is not an easy read, emotionally.

Summary: I usually write my own summaries for the books I blog about, but Amazon’s description for this new novel could not be better…

“Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people do in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.
Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.
A deeply moving portrait of a girl in a world that owes her nothing, and has taken so much, and the journey she undergoes to put herself back together. Kathleen Glasgow’s debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from.” (Borrowed from Amazon)

My Thoughts: Wow! This book is brilliant! Kathleen Glasgow was able to reach into the depths of my heart and soul with her accurate descriptions of pain and loss. The poignant, raw emotional pain in this novel left me contemplative, well after the last page was read. The narrative, told from first person POV, is both captivating and emotive. I found this book to be a “page-burner”, keeping me up well past midnight.

My Favorite Quotes:

“Because when everything is said and done, Charlotte, the world runs on kindness. It simply has to, or we’d never be able to bear ourselves.”

“Everyone has that moment, I think, the moment when something so…momentous happens that it rips your very being into small pieces. And then you have to stop. For a long time, you gather your pieces. And it takes such a very long time, not to fit them back together, but to assemble them in a new way, not necessarily a better way. More, a way you can live with until you know for certain that this piece should go there, and that one there.“

Truly,

P.S. I received an electronic ARC of “Girl in Pieces” from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.